---
title: "NextDNS Review: Cloud DNS Protection That Actually Works"
description: "An honest look at NextDNS after months of use. Is it worth the subscription? How does it handle ads, malware, and privacy? Here's what I found."
date: 2026-01-21
categories: ["vps"]
tags: ["privacy","security"]
---

import Button from "../../layouts/components/widgets/Button.astro";
import Notice from "@components/widgets/Notice.astro";
import ListCheck from "@components/widgets/ListCheck.astro";

I've been running [NextDNS](https://go.bitdoze.com/nextdns) for several months now across all my devices. No ads on my phone apps, no tracking scripts loading in the background, and my ISP can't see what I'm browsing. Here's my take on whether it's worth your time.

<Button text="Try NextDNS Free" link="https://go.bitdoze.com/nextdns" variant="solid" color="blue" size="lg" external={true} icon="rocket-launch" />

## What NextDNS Does

NextDNS sits between your devices and the internet. Every time you visit a website, your device asks "where is example.com?" and NextDNS answers. The difference from your ISP's default DNS is that NextDNS encrypts these queries and checks them against blocklists before responding.

The result: ads don't load, tracking scripts get blocked, and malware domains return empty responses. Your ISP sees encrypted traffic to NextDNS servers but can't tell which websites you're visiting.

<Notice type="info" title="Want the full technical breakdown?">

I wrote a detailed guide covering both NextDNS and self-hosted alternatives with AdGuard Home. It explains DNS encryption protocols, setup options, and when to choose each approach.

<Button text="Read the Complete DNS Protection Guide" link="/block-ads-malware-dns-protection/" variant="outline" color="blue" size="md" icon="book-open" />

</Notice>

<Notice type="warning" title="Chrome is killing classic ad blockers">

Manifest V3 disables uBlock Origin and other classic extensions in Chrome 150. NextDNS keeps ads blocked on every device without a browser extension. I put together a guide on exactly how to set that up.

<Button text="Block Ads After Manifest V3 with NextDNS" link="/block-ads-manifest-v3-nextdns/" variant="outline" color="green" size="md" icon="arrow-right" />

</Notice>

## NextDNS Features

Here's what you get with NextDNS and what each feature actually does:

### Security Features

| Feature | What It Does |
|---------|--------------|
| **Threat Intelligence Feeds** | Blocks domains flagged by security researchers as hosting malware, phishing, or command-and-control servers |
| **Google Safe Browsing** | Taps into Google's database of dangerous sites, updated constantly |
| **Cryptojacking Protection** | Stops websites from using your CPU to mine cryptocurrency in the background |
| **DNS Rebinding Protection** | Prevents attackers from using DNS to access your local network devices |
| **IDN Homograph Protection** | Blocks fake domains that use lookalike characters (like using "rn" to fake "m") |
| **Typosquatting Protection** | Catches common misspellings of popular domains that scammers register |
| **DGA Protection** | Blocks randomly generated domains that malware uses to phone home |
| **NRD (Newly Registered Domains)** | Optionally blocks domains registered in the last 30 days, which are often used for attacks |

### Privacy Features

| Feature | What It Does |
|---------|--------------|
| **Blocklists** | Choose from dozens of community-maintained lists that block ads, trackers, and malware domains |
| **Native Tracking Protection** | Blocks telemetry from Apple, Windows, Samsung, Xiaomi, Huawei, Amazon, and Roku devices |
| **Affiliate & Tracking Links** | Blocks tracking redirects and affiliate link services |
| **Disguised Trackers** | Catches trackers that use CNAME cloaking to hide as first-party domains |

### Parental Controls

| Feature | What It Does |
|---------|--------------|
| **Website Categories** | Block entire categories: porn, gambling, dating, piracy, social media, etc. |
| **Recreation Time** | Set schedules when blocked categories become accessible |
| **Safe Search** | Forces safe search on Google, Bing, DuckDuckGo, and YouTube |
| **YouTube Restricted Mode** | Enables YouTube's built-in content filter |
| **Block Bypass Methods** | Prevents kids from using VPNs, proxies, or other DNS services to bypass your rules |

### Denylist and Allowlist

You can manually block or allow specific domains. The allowlist overrides blocklists when legitimate services get caught. The denylist lets you block domains that aren't on any list.

### Analytics Dashboard

The dashboard shows:
- Total queries and percentage blocked
- Top blocked domains
- Top allowed domains
- Queries by device (if you name them)
- Queries over time
- GAFAM (Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, Microsoft) traffic breakdown

### Logs

Query logs show every DNS request with timestamps, device info, and whether it was blocked or allowed. You control retention: keep them for an hour, a day, a week, or disable logging entirely.

## How to Set Up NextDNS

### Step 1: Create Your Account

1. Go to [NextDNS](https://go.bitdoze.com/nextdns) and click **Try it now**
2. Sign up with your email
3. You'll get a unique Configuration ID (something like `abc123`)

This ID is your profile. You can create multiple profiles for different use cases.

### Step 2: Configure Your Security Settings

In the **Security** tab, enable the protections you want:

```
Recommended settings:
- Threat Intelligence Feeds: ON
- Google Safe Browsing: ON  
- Cryptojacking Protection: ON
- DNS Rebinding Protection: ON
- IDN Homograph Attacks Protection: ON
- Typosquatting Protection: ON
```

NRD (Newly Registered Domains) blocking is aggressive. It can break legitimate new services, so I leave it off unless I'm setting up a network for non-technical users.

### Step 3: Add Your Blocklists

In the **Privacy** tab, click **Add a blocklist** and choose from the list. My recommendations:

- **OISD** - Comprehensive list that blocks most ads and trackers without breaking sites
- **AdGuard DNS filter** - Well-maintained, good balance
- **Steven Black's Unified Hosts** - Another solid option with multiple variants

You don't need all of them. Two or three lists with good overlap is better than ten lists that slow down resolution.

Under **Native Tracking Protection**, enable blocking for the device types you own. If you have Apple devices, enable Apple. Windows PCs, enable Windows. And so on.

### Step 4: Set Up Parental Controls (Optional)

Skip this if you don't have kids on the network. Otherwise, the **Parental Control** tab lets you:

1. Block categories (porn, gambling, social media, etc.)
2. Set recreation times when blocks lift
3. Force safe search on search engines
4. Block bypass methods so VPNs and proxies don't work

### Step 5: Connect Your Devices

NextDNS gives you several connection methods. Pick based on what you're protecting:

**For Your Entire Network (Router)**

Change your router's DNS settings to NextDNS. Find the DNS or WAN settings in your router admin panel and enter:

```
DNS-over-HTTPS: https://dns.nextdns.io/YOUR_CONFIG_ID
```

Or use the linked IP addresses from your NextDNS dashboard if your router doesn't support DoH.

**For Individual Devices**

Download the NextDNS app:
- **iOS/Android**: Install from App Store or Play Store, enter your Configuration ID
- **Windows/Mac**: Download from nextdns.io, runs as a system service
- **Linux**: Install via their shell script or package manager

**For Browsers Only**

Firefox and Chrome support DNS-over-HTTPS natively:
- Firefox: Settings > Privacy & Security > DNS over HTTPS > Custom > `https://dns.nextdns.io/YOUR_CONFIG_ID`
- Chrome: Settings > Privacy and security > Security > Use secure DNS > Custom > same URL

### Step 6: Verify It's Working

1. Visit [test.nextdns.io](https://test.nextdns.io)
2. You should see "All good! You are using NextDNS"
3. Check your dashboard - queries should start appearing in the logs

If the test fails, double-check your DNS settings. On some networks, your ISP forces their DNS, and you'll need DoH or the native app to bypass that.

### Step 7: Fine-Tune Your Settings

After a few days of use, check your logs:
- If legitimate sites break, add them to your allowlist
- If annoying domains slip through, add them to your denylist
- Adjust blocklists if you're seeing too many false positives

The **Settings** tab has additional options:
- **Logs**: Set retention period or disable entirely
- **Block Page**: Show a page when domains are blocked (I disable this)
- **Anonymized EDNS Client Subnet**: Hides your IP from upstream resolvers
- **Cache Boost**: Improves response times

## What I Like About NextDNS

### Setup Takes Five Minutes

Create an account, get a configuration ID, and point your devices at NextDNS servers. That's it. No server to manage, no Docker containers to maintain, no firewall rules to configure.

For router-level protection, you just change your DNS settings once and every device on your network gets coverage automatically. Smart TVs, gaming consoles, IoT devices, phones, laptops. Everything.

### The Blocking Works Well

I added OISD, AdGuard DNS filter, and Steven Black's list to my configuration. YouTube still shows some ads (those are harder to block at DNS level since they come from the same domains as videos), but everything else is clean:

- In-app ads on mobile games: gone
- Banner ads on websites: gone
- Tracking scripts from Facebook, Google Analytics, etc.: blocked
- Those annoying cookie consent popups on some sites: reduced

The dashboard shows what's being blocked in real time. Watching my smart TV phone home to analytics servers only to get blocked is oddly satisfying.

### Privacy Settings That Make Sense

You can configure NextDNS to keep zero logs. No retention of query data, no IP address storage, nothing. Or you can keep logs for debugging (helpful when something breaks) and delete them after a set period.

The anonymized EDNS option hides your IP from upstream DNS resolvers. Combined with encrypted DNS protocols, this means neither your ISP nor the destination servers know exactly what you're doing.

### Multiple Configurations

You can create separate profiles for different use cases. I have one for my main network with aggressive blocking, another for my parents' house with safer defaults, and a third for testing when I need to bypass filters temporarily.

## What Could Be Better

### The Free Tier Limit

300,000 queries per month sounds like a lot until you realize how chatty modern devices are. A household with a few phones, a smart TV, and some IoT devices can burn through that in two weeks.

When you hit the limit, NextDNS stops filtering and just passes queries through. You still have DNS service, but without the blocking. The $1.99/month pro plan removes this limit entirely.

### YouTube Ads Still Get Through

DNS-level blocking can't touch YouTube ads because they're served from the same domains as the actual video content. Blocking those domains would break YouTube entirely. You'll still need a browser extension like uBlock Origin for YouTube specifically.

### Some Sites Break

Occasionally a legitimate service gets caught by blocklists. Affiliate links, certain CDNs, or obscure tracking domains that websites actually need to function. The allowlist feature handles this, but you need to notice the problem first and figure out which domain to unblock.

## Pricing

| Plan | Queries/Month | Price |
|------|---------------|-------|
| Free | 300,000 | $0 |
| Pro | Unlimited | $1.99/month |
| Business | Unlimited | Custom |

The free tier works for testing or light personal use. Most households need Pro. At under $2/month, it's cheaper than most VPNs and arguably more useful for daily browsing.

## My Configuration

Here's what I'm running:

**Security tab:**
- Threat Intelligence Feeds: enabled
- Google Safe Browsing: enabled
- Cryptojacking Protection: enabled
- DNS Rebinding Protection: enabled

**Privacy tab (blocklists):**
- OISD (comprehensive coverage)
- AdGuard DNS filter
- Steven Black's Unified Hosts

**Settings:**
- Logs: 1 hour retention (for debugging)
- Anonymized EDNS: enabled
- Cache Boost: enabled

This catches most ads and trackers without breaking too many websites. I check the logs occasionally and allowlist domains when something legitimate gets blocked.

## Who Should Use NextDNS

<ListCheck>

- People who want ad blocking without managing servers
- Families who need protection across all devices
- Mobile users who want filtering outside their home network
- Anyone frustrated with ISP tracking
- Users who prefer paying a small fee over running infrastructure

</ListCheck>

## Who Should Look Elsewhere

If you want complete control over your DNS infrastructure, self-hosting AdGuard Home makes more sense. It runs on a VPS, Raspberry Pi, or home server and gives you unlimited queries without subscriptions.

<Button text="See How NextDNS Compares to AdGuard Home" link="/block-ads-malware-dns-protection/" variant="outline" color="green" size="md" icon="arrow-right" />

The tradeoff is maintenance. You handle updates, monitor uptime, and troubleshoot when things break. NextDNS handles all that for you.

## Final Thoughts

NextDNS does what it promises. Encrypted DNS queries, network-wide ad blocking, malware protection, and a clean dashboard to monitor everything. Setup is straightforward, the apps work well, and the $1.99/month pro tier removes the only real limitation of the free plan.

I keep it running on all my devices and recommend it to anyone who asks about network-level ad blocking. The minor annoyances (YouTube ads still showing, occasional false positives) are outweighed by the convenience of not maintaining my own DNS server.

If you want protection without the infrastructure headache, NextDNS is worth trying.

<Button text="Get Started with NextDNS" link="https://go.bitdoze.com/nextdns" variant="solid" color="blue" size="lg" external={true} icon="rocket-launch" />

---

**Related Articles:**
- [Manifest V3 Broke Your Ad Blocker? Block Ads Everywhere with NextDNS](/block-ads-manifest-v3-nextdns/)
- [How to Block Ads, Malware & Stop ISP Tracking with NextDNS and AdGuard Home](/block-ads-malware-dns-protection/)
- [Best 100+ Docker Containers for Home Server](https://www.bitdoze.com/docker-containers-home-server/)
- [How to Self-Host SearXNG - Privacy-Focused Metasearch Engine](https://www.bitdoze.com/searxng-self-host-privacy-search/)